The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Melody Swingxe2x80x99.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lisse, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact Dahlia cultivars with freely branching growth habit, decorative inflorescence form, attractive ray floret colors, and good inflorescence longevity.
The new Dahlia originated from a cross pollination made by the Inventor in 1997 of the Dahlia hybrida Gallery Cobra, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/338,010, as the female or seed parent with an unnamed proprietary Dahlia hybrida seedling selection, not patented, as the male or pollen parent. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross grown in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands, in the summer of 1998. The selection of this plant was based on its compact plant habit and attractive ray floret coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by cuttings was first conducted in Lisse, The Netherlands in 1998. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Melody Swing has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, water and nutritional status without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Melody Swingxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Melody Swingxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Dahlia:
1. Upright, somewhat outwardly spreading and rounded plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit, full and dense plants.
3. Freely flowering habit.
4. Decorative inflorescence form with inflorescences positioned just above the foliage.
5. Dark orange-colored ray florets.
6. Excellent garden performance.
7. Excellent inflorescence longevity.
Plants of the new Dahlia are taller and have larger inflorescences than plants of the female parent, the cultivar Gallery Cobra. In addition, plants of the new Dahlia have darker orange-colored ray florets than plants of the cultivar Gallery Cobra.
Plants of the new Dahlia differ primarily from plants of the male parent, an unnamed proprietary seedling selection, in ray floret coloration.
Plants of the new Dahlia can be compared to plants of the cultivar Autumn Fairy, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Lisse, The Netherlands, plants of the new Dahlia are taller, more freely branching and have larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Autumn Fairy. In addition, inflorescences of plants of the new Dahlia have lighter orange-colored ray florets than plants of the cultivar Autumn Fairy.